Vegetarian BLW

[mrsmartin1984]

Is it alright to give babies veggie alternatives such as quorn, veggie mince and sausages to eat. Never thought about it before

I think Quorn is considered too salty - I can't remember for definite though.

Just Googled it and NHS advise not feeding it to babies younger than 9 months due to high fibre/low calorie content (didn't see any mention of salt so may have been slightly misinformed). Hope that helps

I didn't offer quorn until 9 months plus, and try not to use it too much. I try and use pulses and beans instead e.g. instead of quorn mince when making spaghetti bol, chilli or shepherds pie. I do use tofu a lot though.

I think its too salty - i have struggled a bit with BLW protein options tbh (that he'll eat - ds 11mo) but i found a few good things in the BLW cookbook - cheese and lentil wedges and spinach and cheese muffins etc - very easy to cook a batch and also lots of omelettes and eggy things for protein.
To add protein I also do a weekly batch of bean spread - basically blend a tin of beans/pulses, olive oil, cider vinegar and herbs. then can be added to anything like rice cakes, bread sticks ...

What about tofu?

If you are still breastfeeding, they get a lot of protein from breastmilk so don't worry too much, but obviously it's still good to find other sources :)

They recommend no runny eggs until 1 year, but it's up to you if you decide to abide by it or not. The risk is a slightly higher risk of stomach upset.

Still EBF. Going to do things with lentils like a dhal. Have given her well cooked eggs before (hated them scramble but loves them hard boiled - nutcase). We have only been BLW weaning for a short while so she isn't eating much at moment. Going to have to start cooking with beans and pulses again. Humous tonight though

my little man is a humus fiend. It took him about a month to get the hang of blw but then went for it and started dropping feeds.
There are some shop bought humus which are quite low salt.
ds a month a go at a picnic crawled up to the tub of humus and stuck his hand in and put a hand full in his mouth. messy but quite funny but I loved how more 'active' and engaged in the 'adult event' he was than some of the spoon fed babies who were at the picnic.

He knows what he likes and how to feed himself ;-)

VegSoc has info about what is OK for babies. My DD has only been on solids for a few weeks so she hasn't tried much but avocado is very popular and nice and fatty. Hummus is also good.

Vegsoc did advise me that whole beans shouldn't be used before 1 year though, which means mashing them up, so maybe not quite as BLW style as one would normally do, but VegSoc said the skins on the beans can be a choking risk, as well as the beans themselves, so some mashing is required.

They also said Quorn could be given but as it is low in calories/fats to compensate with a glug of oil. They didn't cite the salt content as a problem but some parents will want to limit salt levels more than others so I am sure some mums will consider it too salty. My DD isn't on to Quorn yet, as she will only eat a few things BLW style so she is currently mostly on purees. Our plan over the next few weeks is to use hummus, well-cooked egg, avocado, lentils, mashed beans/pulses and cheeses. Quorn/veggie alternatives will be a last port of call after having looked into it a bit.

Haven't given whole beans always mashed but we manage blw by using rice cakes, bread sticks, oat cakes as vehicles for self feeding.

I read [[http://www.vegsoc.org/document.doc?id=9 this] from the VegSoc which mentions beans being hard to digest but nothing about choking hazards. I must admit this didn't occur to me as a potential issue and so I've been giving whole beans from about 7/8 months, oops.

Oh bugger, link fail... I meant this.

EBB; the "choking risk" isn't universally agreed. A course I went on insisted whole beans were OK, but when I spoke to VegSoc why said to mash them up a bit so the skins are broken. Apparently the skins can separate from the bean and get stuck in the throat (a bit like skin on meat). There is also the obvious "risk" of a larger bean being swallowed whole and getting stuck. However, as one of pdf. Guidance documents doesn't mention the choking risk (as you stated above) it is possible that the person I spoke to was voicing their own opinion and not one endorsed by VegSoc. I personally, am erring on the said of caution and not giving whole, especially as DD is only 7m/o and small for her age.

Surely beans are as much of a risk as raisins or sweetcorn or peas. They aren't hard like whole nuts. So even with gummy mouths they can crush them